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Arrecife is the capital of Lanzarote

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El Charco de San Ginés is a natural sea-water lagoon in the middle of the capital. The first small fishermen's cottages and the island's first chapel were built on its banks.

Because of its many canals and bridges this part of the town, which owes its unique flair to redevelopment by the architect and artist César Manrique, is also referred to as the 'Venice of the Atlantic'.

The lagoon is flanked by a beautiful promenade, fringed by palm trees, small bridges, cafes, restaurants and souvenir shops as well as by the church of San Ginés.

In the 19th century the establishment of small businesses between the streets of Calle Real (main shopping centre) and José Antonio, La Marina and Plaza de la Constitución led to the formation of a further important area of the city.

Arrecife has one of the world's longest coastal promenades, connecting the main city with the tourist resort of Puerto del Carmen.

The main nightlife centre is José Antonio street, while the city's beach, the Playa del Reducto, is the venue for sporting competitions such as volleyball, 'lucha canaria' (Canary Islands wrestling), football and kayak races.

Tías

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Tías is where you will find our 4-star hotel Seaside Los Jameos Playa. The Tías district is in the south-east of the island and its hills offer a panorama of Puerto del Carmen. The restaurants, shopping arcades and the beautiful church of Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria are well worth a visit. The municipal theatre and the Arena de Lucha Canaria are venues for regular interesting cultural events such as concerts, 'lucha canaria' (Canary Islands wrestling), ballett and puppet theatre.

Puerto del Carmen is well-known for its leisure and shopping facilities and long beach promenade. The harbour is only 2 km from the hotel, while the nightlife of Puerto del Carmen is centred on the Avenida de Las Playas promenade and close to Plaza de El Varadero square.

Playa de los Pocillos beach, close to the hotel and less than 2 km from Puerto del Carmen, regularly receives the European blue flag in confirmation of its excellent water quality, top-class facilities and security precautions.

Haría

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The valley of Haría, also referred to as the 'garden of the island', is probably the most tranquil place in Lanzarote. Hundreds of palm trees grow here as the result of an old tradition according to which when a child is born one or even two palm trees are planted in gratitude. In this palm oasis you won't fail to appreciate the hospitality shown by the residents of the many beautiful little houses. The artist Cesar Manrique lived here and had the little Iglesia de Maguez church built. The restaurants serve typical island dishes and every Saturday between 10:00 and 14:30 hrs there is a flea market with traditional handicrafts on the main square, Plaza Central de Haría.

The district of Haría arouses the most interest from tourists because of the traces left behind by earlier volcanic eruptions. Underground in particular, hidden from the daylight, there are numerous volcanic caves, natural galleries, grottoes and the fabulous Jameos del Agua cave, home to the indigenous blind albino cave crab, the 'jameito'.

San Bartolomé

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Located at the centre of the island, part of this district belongs to the Parque Natural de La Geria national park. Grapes are cultivated here addition to potatoes, sweet potatoes and onions. You can visit the wineries and get to know traditional wine production in Lanzarote. The beautiful church square of San Bartolomé is often the venue for folklore events as well as theatre performances and concerts. The bars of the area are the ideal place to get to know the island's excellent cuisine and wines.

Teguise

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From the 16th to the 18th century Teguise was the capital of Lanzarote. The distinguishing features of Tahiche are a landscape full of volcanic craters such as Oígue y Guanapay and an imposing tongue of lava resulting from a volcanic eruption in the 18th century. The town's narrow, steep alleys are aligned by traditional houses.

Iglesia de Miraflores, also known as the 'Church of St Francis'. The interior contains baroque altarpieces, beautiful statues of Genoese design (St Francis of Assisi), Flemish paintings and a baptismal font shaped from volcanic rock.

The Gothic Iglesia de Santa María houses the Madonna 'Virgen de Guadalupe'.

There are also imposing secular buildings such as the Palacio de los Spínola from the 16th century and the residence of the Herrera Peraza family.

Guanapay lies below the 16th century fortress of Castillo de Santa Bárbara which contains the Piracy Museum.

In 1852 Teguise lost its status as capital city to Arrecife, when economic development and its busy port made the latter the hub of business activity on the island.

The town of Tinajo is one of the most important agricultural centres in Lanzarote. Near to Tinguatón the Ermita de la Virgen de los Volcanes is situated at the exact spot where a lava flow threatening Tinajo came to a stop.

Costa Teguise is a well-known tourist centre, in particular for watersports (diving, sailing, fishing). Its recreational facilities are rounded off by a golf course (Costa Teguise – 18 holes), a water park and a sports centre.

The beaches of Playas de Famara remain almost free from visitors. With a length of 6 km and fine sand they provide the ideal facilities for surfers and windsurfers. This is also the beginning of the Jable sandbank, also known as 'El Río de Jable' (river of sand).

'Jable' means sand, above all when it is of organic origin. This natural sandy promontory reaches from the Playa de Famara to Puerto del Carmen, Playa Honda and Arrecife in the south-east of the island.

The Chinijo archipelago Islas Chinijo is part of the Teguise district and includes the islands of La Graciosa (the only inhabited one), Montaña Clara, Alegranza, los Roques del Este and Roque del Oeste, also known as 'Roque del Infierno'. From the jetty of Órzola boats leave for the islands, which can be viewed from the lookout point of Mirador del Río created by César Manrique.

Tinajo

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The district of Tinajo is located in the north-east of the island. Its white houses form a wonderful contrast to the black volcanic landscape, more than 50% of which derives from volcanic eruptions from the years 1730 - 1736 and 1824. Tinajo has only few inhabitants, who are mainly farmers employing all the methods of cultivation which are typical for the island: 'gavias' irrigation ditches, 'bancales' terraces, use of an 'enarenados' protective layer of volcanic ash and 'jables' sand.

The village of Tinajo is surrounded by volcanoes. Here you can visit churches such as the chapel of La Virgen de las Dolores, the patron saint of Lanzarote, and get to know the history of the village, including the story of the lava flow which threatened the village but then stopped short – thanks to the prayers of the villagers. Tinajo is also a centre for Canary Islands wrestling, lucha canaria. Only a few kilometres to the south you can visit the wine growing region of La Geria.

Something not to be missed in Tinajo is a trip to the Parque Nacional de Timanfaya, which stretches from the district of Tinajo to beyond Yaiza and is remarkable for the petrified remains of volcanic eruptions of past centuries. The wineries where you can taste select wines are of course also well worth a visit.

Yaiza

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Yaiza is located in the south of the island of Lanzarote and features a range of spectacular sights. The Parque Nacional de Timanfaya national park consists of a large crater landscape and several areas of volcanic rock (malpaíses). In Montaña del Fuego (fire mountain) and Islote de Hilario the park has two unmissable sights during your exploration of this incredible landscape. A number of geysers demonstrate the tremendous thermal forces in the depths of the earth and visitors can wonder at the sight of a jet of steam rising into the sky when water is poured into them. On the west coast the village of El Golfo is famous for its beautiful beach and green lagoon, the charco verde, which lies within the crater of a volcano surrounded by black sand and owes its name to a small variety of algae.

At a height of 400 m in Los Ajaches the typical white houses of the village of Femés and the island's oldest church are well worth seeing, while the popular beaches of Las Coloradas and Playa Blanca are to be found in the south of the island. The southernmost point of Lanzarote contains a natural paradise with the pristine, white sandy beaches and turquoise coloured waters of Punta del Papagayo.